Sanctuary
by Angel46
Summary: John Constantine is sent on yet another mission by God. This time, however, it's different. Constantine can't figure out what it is he's meant to do...until, perhaps, it is too late.
1. The Mission

John Constantine lit a cigarette and put it to his mouth, taking an unconcerned puff. Gabriel watched him with mild interest, "Those things'll kill you, John."

"Like they aren't already?" He grunted, exhaling the smoke. Gabriel sighed, dark blonde locks dancing gently about her head in the wind. She opened her mouth to say something more, but John interrupted her, "Now's not the time for a lecture, wings. What does God want from me this time?"

"Wings, eh? I can't say that's a new one. Our Father needs you to find someone."

"He can't do it himself?"

"You're very close to blasphemy, John. He knows where she is, but as you know, God rarely intervenes directly. Do not forget why humanity was created."

"To be playtoys?" John sneered sarcastically and Gabriel's eyes narrowed. Constantine knew that he had crossed the line on the one. He sighed, and dropped his gaze in a signal of compliance.

"To glorify and worship him." She replied stiffly.

John could see that she was struggling not to unleash her angelic, righteous fury on his mortal soul. "I'm sorry." He said finally, hating to admit he was in the wrong. He really did tread close to blaspheming when Gabriel was around. She brought out a good deal of his embittered, sarcastic side. "It's a 'she'?"

"Yes," Gabriel was relieved to move beyond his childish nature, "She runs an establishment near the Brooklyn Bridge. Locals have nicknamed it 'Saving Grace' and it is run as a soup kitchen by day and a Sanctuary by night."

"Sanctuary? Like a homeless shelter?" John frowned. It sounded like she was an angelic half-breed. They were always taking menial jobs.

"No, John. Mary Alvir is one of the rare individuals on this plane who is purely benevolent, in every aspect." Thunder crashed overhead and fat raindrops began to fall. Gabriel remained spotless but John was rapidly soaked from head to toe. "Her Sanctuary is a safe house...Half-breeds may seek refuge under her roof."

"Oh, well that's intelligent," John muttered. It was hard enough for Papa Midnite to have a neutral zone. Since when could anyone actually have peace with the halfbreeds sleeping under one roof.

"It's kind, John!" Gabriel exclaimed, shocked at how bitter he seemed. Had Constantine really slipped so far? "John, I fear you have been to Hell too many times." She said quietly, feeling a sad sort of sympathy for the poor mortal.

"No, really!" John shouted back, "It's about time you a-holes got that through your d-mn heads! I never asked for this," He flung his arms out wide, indicating the whole world, "I never wanted to be a hero!" Gabriel drew back in dismay, but this time her eyes were soft and understanding. _Condescending little–_John thought angrily. He didn't want her pity. He wanted peace.

"I understand, John." She let out her breath in a little sigh(which was entirely for his benefit. Angels had no need to breathe.) John opened his mouth to fire back a hot denial, but something about the softened tone of her voice made him wonder if she truly did understand. "If that really is the case, then Mary will be good for you."

"Setting me up on blind dates now?" He quipped dryly and Gabriel rolled her eyes.

"Hardly. In fact, I rather doubt you will find much of a romantic interest in her whatsoever. Try not to think of her as a bleeding heart or a pawn...just let her Be. You might be amazed at how much good it will do you."

Gabriel started to fade away, but John wasn't through. "Is she human?" He shouted, hoping that Gabriel wouldn't just ignore him, "Or is she just another half-breed?"

Gabriel paused and studied him thoughtfully, "Mary Alvir is human." She said finally, and it seemed like she wanted to say more. Suddenly, she glanced up at the sky and smiled slightly, a hint of bliss creeping over her features, "I will see you again soon, John. Don't go looking for trouble. Just find Mary and...John?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay out of Hell for awhile, alright?"

"...Alright."

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How was it? Please give me reviews! I am especially anxious to keep John in character. Secondly, all curse words in my story are likely to be abbreviated or edited in some way. I have aproblem with bad language, but I know that John uses them proficiently. I'm still rating it 'T', just in case. Let me know how you liked it!


	2. True Sight

**Thank you, Roony and digitalgrey, for reviewing my story! Roony, I think I can safely assure you that Mary is not a Mary-sue. Thank you for your input about the curse words as well. I understand what you mean, but I just cannot bring myself to use them. Strange, I know, but I am an oddling. Enjoy my next chapter!**

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John stood outside of a dilapidated building, no more than a mile away from the Brooklyn Bridge. A rather worn sign, hanging by one screw, proclaimed the name of the establishment: 'Saving Grace: Sanctuary'. John frowned thoughtfully, puffing on his cigarette. On a hunch, he switched to True Sight and sure enough. Both the sign and the doors had been clearly marked with the angelic and demonic symbols for Sanctuary. So that was how the half-breeds found this place.

He was about to walk inside when a 'No Smoking' sticker caught his eye. John studied it balefully for a moment before dropping his cigarette on the ground and grinding it out with the toe of his shoe. Once inside, he employed his True Sight again and nearly fell over from the sheer numbers of half-breeds in the room. Out of the twenty or so people, at least fifteen were half-breeds(mostly demonic). "What the hell?" He muttered, placing a hand on his gun, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be slaying these creatures.

"Excuse me!" A sharp, masculine voice interrupted. "This is a Sanctuary. That means no weapons." The big black man held out his massive hand to John, "Hand it over."

"Not a chance, a-hole!" John replied defensively, gripping it even tighter.

Suddenly, the man's eyes widened with recognition, "Hey...don't I know you from somewhere?" A quick check in True Sight told John all he needed to know. The man was a demonic half-breed. "Yeah, that's right. You're Constantine. You murdered my brother!"

_Oh crap_ Thought John. _Not even here five minutes and I've already found an enemy. Wonder if I can kill him before someone else notices..._

"Barney..." The black man looked over John's shoulder and his eyes widened. John smirked _Barney, huh? Way to strike fear into the hearts of your foes._ A small woman with long, braided hair stepped in between the pair. "What did I tell you?"

"No fighting in the Sanctuary." He mumbled, shooting John an evil glance, knowing what he was thinking.

_That's odd_ John frowned _Why would a half-breed obey a human? The half-breed has magic and brute strength. Humans, at best, have a little magic and a big gun._

"That's right," The woman agreed, "Now if you're going to behave, I think Fred needs help in the kitchen." After shooting John one final evil look that promised revenge later, Barney hurried out of the room. The woman sighed and finally turned to face John. Almost immediately, her eyes found his gun, "I would ask that you give up your weapons"

"Not a chance in hell."

"–But I'm fairly certain that you won't." Mary finished, giving him a reproving glance. John snorted softly. "I am Mary Alvir, the owner and manager of Sanctuary." She held out a hand to shake one of his.

John shook it cautiously, again using True Sight to verify that she was, indeed, human. "I'm John Constantine. Gabriel sent me...said that God needed me to find you. Why?"

Mary shrugged, brown hair glistening dully in the insufficient lighting. John noted from the handshake that her hands were calloused and her wrist had been broken at least once. "The only reason God sends people here," She said carefully, "Is if they need me. I've heard about you, John Constantine."

"What else is new?" He muttered sardonically. Mary sighed quietly, dark green eyes showing John's reflection. Constantine was used to that sort of response. If people didn't get angry at his smart-mouth attitude, they sighed like he was just a spoiled child. He hated that. "So what the hell is this place?"

"A place in which hell is not welcome." Mary replied pointedly, "In both senses of the word. As I'm sure Gabriel told you, this is a safe zone. A place where everyone can come when they need rest or peace."

John snorted again. Peace? What a laughable concept. "I think you're living in a dreamworld, Alvir."

Mary frowned and seemed hurt. Then, slowly, she sighed again (He **wasn't** a willful child, d-mmit!). She turned to survey the room and for a moment, John thought she might've walked away. He wouldn't have minded. Then, much to his annoyance, she turned back around and pulled up her sleeves, presenting her wrists for his inspection. "How many scars do you see here, John?" She asked levelly, green eyes burning a hole into his forehead.

John obediently leaned forward to count them. He expected them to either originate from demons, or possibly even razor blades. He would recognize both without any trouble. To his surprise, he didn't see any. Was this some kind of sick joke? "I don't see any." He replied, a hint of a challenge seeping into his tone.

"Exactly." Mary's smile was unreadable. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Not bothering to explain herself, she pulled her sleeves down again and headed for the same door Barney had left through. Just as she was about to step over the threshold, she glanced back at the demon hunter, "Are you going to follow me, John? I would think you would want to know why this isn't a dreamworld."

John would've liked nothing better than to have detonated a holy water bomb in the room so he could blast the half-demons to dust, but he had a mission. As usual, he couldn't ignore God's directive...so he followed her.


	3. Demon of Lust

**Thank you for the reviews Falcon Horus** **and chocolate-Monster! I will continue to update as rapidly as I am able Reviews are great motivators, you know. hinthint, guys** **Also, I have decided that this fic is set sometime before the movie–which would explain why Gabriel is here. Warning, though, my final chapters are VERY LIKELY to contain spoilers.**

Mary led Constantine up the back stairs and into a hallway, which was lit much better than the 1st floor had been. She paused at the first door on the left and pivoted to face John. "This is one of the many rooms reserved for my angelic patrons. If you look carefully, you may be able to see what sets their rooms apart from others."

John squinted at the doorframe and delicate wood grain, tempted to use True Sight. As it turned out, he didn't need to. A spidery design stretched its wispy tendrils across the door, and John could recognize at least 70 percent of the symbols woven into the framework. There were many to ward off unfriendly influences, to seal out demons, protect the visitor from harmful magics, as well as many others. "This is the work of a Master," He said in gruff admiration. "Did you make this?"

Mary shook her head firmly, "No, Constantine. I have no magic." She was oddly vehement about this fact. "Gabriel assisted some friends of mine with the finding of such spells, symbols, and the activation of the spells."

"_Gabriel_ helped?" He asked incredulously, "Since when does her kind interfere directly?"

"She did not interfere," Mary corrected John primly, "She aided us in finding the material and advised us on how to activate the various protections. Even angels have a certain amount of freedom."

John stepped back and straightened up. He flashed on his True Sight and discovered another framework overlaying the wood. This had truly been a masterpiece. "And the demon half-breeds?" He asked, twisting his mouth to one side, "Do they get protection or do you just let them go to hell with the other poor b-----ds on the streets?" John was beginning to notice a pattern. Everytime he cursed, Mary either grimaced or frowned slightly. _Tough,_ he sneered to himself. John Constantine changed for no being.

"We have demonic wards as well," Mary responded, voice revealing none of the disapproval that showed in her eyes. She didn't offer to show them, so John prodded her none-too-gently.

"Gonna show me, or do you have somethin' to hide?"

Mary did glare at him this time, "If you want to see them, then I'll show you. But I don't want you disturbing any of those under my protection!" Her response was more heated than usual. She actually seemed to be unhappy to have to show him that area of the building. Maybe she did have something to hide?

John was disappointed to note that the demonic section of the Sanctuary appeared to be just as well protected as the angelic sector. Mary didn't comment on the woodwork this time and neither did he. If John didn't know any better, he'd say that Mary was a little nervous. "Do your customers behave?" He asked snidely.

"Most of them." The petite woman responded, then her eyes trailed to look at something over John's shoulder. Her facial expression was less than pleased. She muttered something that sounded like 'wonderful.'

John pivoted, hand instinctively going inside his jacket. It had to be a demon. Dmned if he was going to be caught offguard. He was, as it turned out, 100 correct.

A demonic half-breed strutted down the hallway, hair slicked back in the popular style. _Probably trying to mimic Balthazar,_ John thought with distaste. Even demons were subject to trends, apparently. This one had the appearance of a 25 year old male. Slick brown hair, unearthly green eyes(Literally. John suspected that they might even glow in the dark), and finely chiseled features. "Darling!" He grinned, exhibiting pearly white teeth that were sharper than humanly possible. Vampire? John didn't think so...he was too tan. Maybe they were artificially sharpened. Without a second glance at John, Lucian rudely pushed by to envelop Mary in his long arms.

John raised his eyebrows. A demon with a human? It was impossible! Unheard of! It was _disgusting_. Constantine relaxed slightly as Mary deftly dodged the demon's seeking embrace. Her expression was neutral, but he was gratified to note that her eyes were horrified. "Oh," She greeted the demonic half-breed, miraculously pulling a slight smile out of the depths of her dismay. "I thought you'd be heading for Hell by now."

The demonlaughed; a high-pitched sound that grated on John's nerves. "Wonderful humor, as always, I see. Tell me, my dear virgin Mary, when will you give in to the inevitable and fall for my charms?" John's lip curled in disgust. He wasn't sure if he disliked the demon or his attitude more. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mary's jaw tighten. It seemed that he was touching a nerve with his 'endearments'.

"That," She said pleasantly, "Is one of the few things that I will not do for you. Now please, I have business to attend to with my guests." Only then did the smarmy demon look at Constantine. He immediately bristled, muscles tensing.

"You're helping _him?_" The demon demanded, sneering darkly, "He's a murderer--"

"And you aren't?" Mary replied coolly, putting her patron back in his place. "You should know better than to assign labels here–of all places."

"Who the hell is he?" John demanded in a low tone, glaring at the demon while watching Mary out of the corner of his eye.

"He's--"

"_Luuuuuuccccyyyyyy!_" A voice echoed down the halls, "Lucy, where are you?"

John looked to Mary for an explanation and found that she was fighting a smile. "Please tell me he's not Lucy." This was utter insanity. Demons had names like Balthazar and Hapdanatiel–not Barney and _Lucy!_

"I am **Lucian**." The slimy demon snarled, putting extra emphasis on every syllable, "_Lu-ci-an! _Never Lucy."

"Lucy!" A loud thunderclap struck near John's ear, and he yanked his gun out, whirling to point it at the offending spirit. "Eep!" The Imp scowled at him, "Put that away. I'm not bothering you; I'm here to see Luuuucy!" The imp trilled lightly, bobbing in midair. John noticed that it had bright green hair, red eyes, and seemed to have the face of a mischievous toddler. He also noticed that it–was an it. He couldn't tell if it was male or female. Then again, he reasoned, demons really weren't either.

"Shut up!" Lucian snapped heatedly, giving John a rude gesture when he noticed the smirk on his face. "Why don't you get back to hell, Araru? Go away before I banish you there permanently."

Araru stuck its tongue out at him, sniffing obnoxiously, "You can't banish meeee. You're only a _lust_ demon." Lucian snarled and swiped at the floating imp, hand slicing through the air at an astonishingly fast speed.

"I am a demon of Passion!" He cried...passionately.

"What's the difference? You end up sleeping with them all anyways!" Araru snickered, dodging another angry blow from Lucian. He blew a raspberry at Lucian, then disappeared with cloud of perfumed green smoke and a rude noise...well, perfumed wasn't quite the right word.

Mary's amused features melted into one of distaste and suspicion, eyeing Lucian warily. "I have an appointment to keep." He snapped at the human pair, stalking down the hall and rounding the corner. His voice carried down the corridor, reaching their ears in little to no time lapse, "You won't resist forever, Alvir!" His declaration held a ringing tone of determination and darker undertones of an unspoken threat.

John swore aloud, curling his lip with utter disgust, "You let creatures like these stay here?" He asked incredulously, "You are insane!"

Mary shook her head slowly, dropping her gaze and sighing. "Most of them behave, except for a few macho fights...Lucian is unique. He's got some outside agenda--"

"Like sleeping with you?" John suggested sarcastically, "As if that weren't obvious. Satan knows why, though..."

Mary compressed her lips together and for a moment her eyes shone in the dim lighting of the hallway. "You're just as bad as..." She clamped her jaws shut again and shook her head as though trying to shake off the angry retort that blossomed on her tongue.

John glared at her defiantly, strangely angry. He didn't know why he was here; he didn't know why he was so pissed; and he really didn't know the reason why he liked Mary even though he tried his hardest make her angry. She reminded him of Gabriel...annoyingly good, yet somehow nice to be around. Sort of like a sibling. Children always loved their younger siblings, yet couldn't resist needling them at every opportunity. "As who?" He challenged her.

Mary clenched her fists and forced herself to look at the ground. "I'm sorry," She said in a low voice, refusing to meet his eyes. "What I was about to say was unkind and untrue."

What the hell? John blinked at her, vaguely unsettled and somehow sickened. "What the hell are you apologizing for?" He postulated cagily, "You didn't even do anything."

Mary looked at him, her expression similarly guarded. "But I almost did...so I apologized."

"For almost insulting me?" John gave a short bark of disgust, "Man, for working with demons, you have amazingly little spine. Chill, Alvir. If I can curse and work for His Highness, you can insult a bitter b----rd like me every now and then." He pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips without lighting it. "So, what else is there to this place anyways?" He asked casually.

As Mary led him to another part of the Sanctuary, she couldn't help but notice that the tension between them had lessened considerably. She didn't know why, but there was some sort of camaraderie between them now. Friends? Not yet...but maybe later. For now–a truce of sorts; an understanding between allies.


End file.
